


Inverted

by neguse



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, alternate universe - patema inverted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-08-13 21:37:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7987099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neguse/pseuds/neguse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nazuna could hear the others calling for him, hoping that he’d call back saying something about the hole not being deep at all and that he was totally fine, that he’d manage to find a way back up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inverted

“Nii-chan… Is it really okay for us to come this far away from home?”

“We’ll be fine Hajime-chin, just hold on to Tomo-chin if you’re scared alright?”

Glancing back at Hajime though proved that there was no point in saying that in the first place, he was clutching to Tomoya’s forearm so tight that it honestly looked like he could snap it at any moment. Still-- what kind of big brother would Nazuna be if he didn’t try and comfort his kids!!

The group of boys were out trying to find food for their little community, the more time that went on, the harder it got to find things that were edible. Thinking back on it, Nazuna realised that the last time anybody had found food from their rounds was when Mako-chin’s group went looking the month prior, and he’d let him in on the secret that they had to go pretty far into the danger zone to find the small lot of cans.

So, that’s where Nazuna’s group were wandering through at that exact moment. The atmosphere was creepy, to say the least, the only sounds being their footsteps and hushed voices. It was dark and dusty, but it was obvious that people had been here before, maybe long in the past. The area was fully constructed with rooms and halls, there were doors and tables and papers scattered about… Some things were strange though. Like, there were upside-down signs bolted to the floor, and things sitting on the ceiling, seemingly being held there by nothing.

“So weird…” Tomoya had his flashlight pointed to a paper above them, swatting his other hand through the air in an attempt to create a small breeze against it, curious as to whether or not it would move. Sure enough, the page fluttered, but instead of becoming unstuck and falling like they’d been expecting, it scurried along the ceiling before coming to a halt. “It’s like everything is being held up there by ghosts or something.”

“P-please don’t say things like that, Tomoya-kun.”  Hajime gripped Tomoya’s arm tighter, shuffling to hide his face in the slightly taller boy’s shoulder. “Being here is already bad enough, but thinking about ghosts…”

“Sorry, Hajime. We shouldn’t be here much longer. Right, Nii-chan?”

“Yeah I…” Nazuna shone his flashlight around one last time, deciding that there was nothing of value where they were. “I think we should head back now, doesn’t look like we’ll find anything.”

“Nii-chan, wait!” The three stopped to look where Mitsuru had his flashlight pointed, Nazuna stepping between the younger boys and that general direction, expecting the worst. The light reflected off of something metallic on the ceiling of the other end of the hall. Nazuna squinted a little, trying to make out what it could be.

“Are those…”

“Cans!! Maybe there’s food in them!!!” Mitsuru took off, heading toward the other end of the hall. Nazuna ran after him, noticing a large hole in the floor up ahead, making it absolutely impossible to get to where the cans were. Did Mitsuru really not see it?!

“Mitsuru-chin, stop, it’s dangerous!” Mitsuru looked down just in time to see the hole and attempt to stop, but the momentum he’d built up from running pushed him over the edge. Nazuna got to him with just enough time to grab the hem of his coat and pull him back up, but the exchange in force was enough to cause him to fall down the hole instead.

As he fell into the depths, Nazuna could hear the others calling for him, hoping that he’d call back saying something about the hole not being deep at all and that he was totally fine, that he’d manage to find a way back up. That wasn’t the case though, as far as Nazuna could tell the hole was seemingly endless, and eventually he heard their footsteps rushing away while Tomoya yelled at the other two that they had to go and tell Hokuto or Keito as quickly as they could.

So, this is how he’d die, huh? Falling into a pitch black hole, never to be seen again. All Nazuna hoped for was that the others would look after his kids in his place, aside from the twins and Tsukasa they were the youngest people there, they needed guidance. The hole seemed like it went on forever, he’d honestly rather it be over and done with, no matter how painful it is, than to be left with all this time to think about things before he died. Or… Maybe he _had_ already hit the bottom, the force crushing all of his bones and killing him instantly? Was this the afterlife? His surroundings seemed to be getting brighter and brighter, this must be it right? Going into the light??

Suddenly, everything got too bright for Nazuna to handle, squeezing his eyes closed quickly before feeling his back hit something and hearing a rustling noise. He slowly cracked open his eyes to see something green floating up into the hole above him, they looked like something he’d seen in a book before… Leaves? Was he in a tree?? Weird, they didn’t exist in the depths…

Looking around further, Nazuna quickly became aware that he wasn’t alone. There was somebody else, with messy pink hair and violet eyes, sitting upside down above him, looking at him with his mouth hanging open in a small ‘o’ shape.

“How… how are you doing that?”

“I could ask you the same.”

“W-what? No. You’re the one sittin’ on the ceiling here!”

“Why don’t you try looking up, then.”

Nazuna tilted his head to the side, confused. “But… I am lookin’ up?”

The stranger sighed, pinching the area between his eyes. “Look down then. _Mon dieu_ , this is confusing…”

Hesitantly, Nazuna looked down and through the branches, being met with an endless stretch of pinks and oranges and blues and white, all swirling together in a mix of color. “What is that… Is this heaven? Did I really die??” Nazuna leaned out of the tree, wanting to get a better look at it, wondering if he would be able to reach out and take a piece of the colors for himself.

Before he could though, Nazuna felt something tug at his collar, pulling him back to be sitting in the support of the branches. “Idiot, that’s the sky, you’re not dead. If you get out of this tree, however, you will be.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Once you go up there, you won’t come back down, if you really _are_ inverted.”

“Inverted? Aren’t _you_ the inverted one here?”

“Clearly not, seeing as I can be out here without shooting up into space.”

Nazuna resigned, looking back up into the hole. “How am I gonna get back up there… I can’t just leave my kids alone.”

“I cannot help you with that. And... This is something I normally would not do, but,” the stranger then looked into Nazuna’s eyes, finally letting go of his collar. “I can take you back to my home. We can figure something out from there.”

Nazuna fervently nodded, feeling tears fall from his face and into the sky. How long had he been crying for, was it this whole time? He hadn't even noticed. “M-my name… It’s Nazuna Nito, by the way. So, um…”

“Shu Itsuki.”

“Shu-ch--”

“Itsuki is fine enough.”

“Uh, Itsuki then. How are we gonna get to your place?”

“I shall carry you. It isn’t far from here, so it should be alright. Here, wrap your arms around my chest, under my arms.”

Nazuna nodded, carefully reaching out to do as he was instructed, keeping his feet firmly planted on the branch below him. He felt Shu wrap his arms around his chest the same way, keeping him secure. “Are you ready?”

Shu felt more than saw Nazuna nod, taking that as his signal to slowly, carefully step away from the tree. He felt the other’s arms tighten around him as they got closer to leaving the security of the branches, as soon as they stepped out the two shot slightly up into the air, before Shu’s weight balanced them out and slowly brought them back down to the ground. It was a strange sensation, feeling like all your weight was suddenly taken away, that there was more distance between your feet and the ground with every single step taken.

“This is the worst, I can walk perfectly fine by myself, but you gotta carry me instead.”

“Would you rather I have left you there? Or should I let go of you now to see what happens?” Panic shot through Nazuna’s veins, causing him to hold onto Shu even tighter than he already was. “Calm yourself, we’ll be there soon. Nobody should be around right now, so we can probably make it back to my room without you being noticed.”

“Would it be a bad thing if somebody saw me?”

“Of course. People here tend to blindly follow the idea that inverts like you shouldn’t exist, say you’re the descendants of sinners who became inverted for a reason.”

“Do you think that, Itsuki?” Only silence followed, causing an uncomfortable anxious feeling to settle in Nazuna’s gut. “I-Itsuki..?”

“We shall see.”

**Author's Note:**

> YOU KNOW WHATS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIES??? Patema Inverted, I love it, please watch it if you haven't done so already.
> 
> I really wanted to write more for this but ah... I cant think of anything. This is it for now, unless I can think of a way to continue it?? I can't ever leave Shu and Nazuna without making it ShuNazu. I just can't.
> 
> Also if anybody is curious, the units living below the surface are Ra*bits, Trickstar, Knights, 2wink, and Akatsuki, and above the surface is Valkyrie, Fine, Undead, Ryuseitai, and Switch. Basically if they have an oddball then they're above the surface, lol


End file.
